Naruto Shippuuden Later On
by 2 way past cool
Summary: Naruto's life starts taking serious twists and turns as his life of a Jinchuuriki just keeps getting harder and harder. Sasuke returns to the village.... but Naruto leaves? Naruto x OC
1. Chapter 1

-The sound village-

The orange sun was setting against the yellow, crisp sky as the summoning bells tolled. Sound ninja from all over came, drawn by the bells. There only thoughts -"It's time for our attack!" Millions of sound ninja approached the sound palace that previously belonged to Orochimaru. The mass stopped right at the entrance. They uniformly stood side by side. They stood there but a glistening moment for suddenly the heavy palace door flew open. A dark figure stepped out - but remained in the shadows. He spoke silently to a guard standing next to him "Are the preparations complete?■ The guard quickly nodded his head. The mysterious shadowed man then spoke in a soft, but stinging tone to the ninja army "It▓s time. Orochimaru▓s wish shall be granted.■ He waved his hand swiftly and not a trace of the army was left by the time his arm fell to his side. They sped towards Konoha. The dark figure stepped outside and the warm sun gently touched his face √ the perfect weather for destruction. A sound Jonin landed behind him, armed heavily for intense combat. ⌠Are you ready Kabuto sir?■ Kabuto smirked ⌠Yes. Let▓s go.■ As they dashed off behind the army, a thought lingered in his mind "I wonder if the Kyuubi brat will give me a challenge this time?■

-Konoha: the ramen shop where Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi are eating dinner-

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto mumbled with his cheeks full of steaming ramen. Sasuke looked at him "What?" Naruto gulped mouthful of ramen and pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke "Tomorrow, I want to fight you! And this time I'm going to win"  
Sasuke just shrugged. Kakashi chuckled and remembered the good old times "They're still acting like they did 3 years ago-but at least Naruto's softened a bit." Sakura got mad at Naruto "Don't you dare make Sasuke fight RIGHT after a mission!! That's just wrong!!" Naruto flinched and backed down. If you got her upset, you▓d pay with your life! Sasuke just ignored him-the usual reaction. They finished their ramen (10 bowels SHOULD be enough for Naruto). Ayame handed Kakashi the bill "Thank you! Come again!!" Kakashi looked at the bill and his eyes bulged "10,000 YEN?!■ He turned to where Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were sitting-but they couldn't be found. Kakashi sighed heavily ⌠Why me?■

To Be Continued... 


	2. Chapter 2

-_Leaf Village-_

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura stopped running to catch their breath. "Man, I'm huff glad he gaspdidn't see us!" Sakura huffed. Naruto shook his red hot face in agreement "He would huff kill us." Sasuke didn't reply but simply plopped to the ground breathing hard. After he caught his breath, Naruto tiptoed over to a bend in the road and looked around - no sign of Kakashi. Naruto smiled and whispered "Hey I think we've lost him!!" Sakura sighed in relief. Sasuke does his thing - nothing. Sakura stomped over to Naruto and punched his head with all of her strength "You IDIOT!!" Naruto tenderly rubbed his head "Owww…" She pulled on his ear and yelled into it "Naruto! You shouldn't have stolen Kakashi sensei's book as we left! It's enough that he's going to be upset with at the large bill your bottomless pit of a stomach created!" Naruto whined "But that's the reason why he's always 'late' when we have to met him. He reads this stupid book!" He held it up and Sakura snatched it away from him. "Idiot..." she mumbled. Sakura plunged her fist into his head once more. "Hey, stop it! That really hurts Sakura!" he shouted at her.

"HEY! NARUTO!!" someone a little ways from them shouted out. In the distance, an approaching figure was running towards them. Naruto recognized her right away and exclaimed "Hey it's Shizune! What are you doing here?" She explained to him "Naruto, Tsunade has a mission for you. It's an "S" ranked mission too. But only you can go." Naruto had a greatly confused look. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed Naruto. He jumped away from Sasuke and shouted "Hey!! That hurts!" Sasuke said calmly (as usual)"Shut up. Just go and do the mission. Besides you haven't had this good of a mission since our first mission 3 years ago in the land of waves." Naruto nodded his head and turned to Shizune "Why is this mission so great that it's "S" ranked?" She lowered her voice to a whisper "You must deliver a scroll that has detailed information about the enemy sound's plans to the kazekage. The sound has gained a new leader since Orochimaru deceased and plan to attack the sand village. Tsunade will fill you in more once we get to her office. Now let's hurry!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Naruto was stunned at Shizune's words "Th-that means Gaara-" he dashed towards the hokage's mansion without another word uttered.Sakura and Sasuke were about to follow him but Shizune held up her hand, "Tsunade specifically requested that only Naruto should complete this task.You can't go with him,I'm sorry."They looked bewildered at first,but nodded in understanding.Sakura glanced back at where Naruto was last seen "I hope he'll do okay..." the thought skimmed deeply inside her.

Naruto busted the door (literally) into Tsunade's office."What's going on here?The sand's going to be attacked?By SOUND?!"Tsunade peered at him and then glanced over to a familular face,who didn't quite seem the same..."Temari!!Explain his mission!!"Tsunade demanded in her usual strong tone.Naruto turned quickly and saw Temari.Her state was unspeakable!!It looked as if it took all of her will power just to stand.Her fan was demolished - polverized.Naruto drew back in shock and stuttered "Ho--how..." "Forget about me."Temari interrupted "Here's your mission-"she placed a battered but still intact scroll in his hand "This has all of the plans of the sound.It's incoded so we could only dechipher that the sound plan to attack the Sand EVENTUALLY.Me and Kankuro would've finished this mission had the sound village not discover us.They don't know we still have the scroll because we created a copy of it and dropped it on purpose during the fight.We escaped,but with consequences - we can't return to the sand village.Kankuro barely survived,and is in one of Konoha's hospitals and I must stay with him.You must go in our place."there was a long,deathly pause.The air seemed thick with tension - the kind when you feel as if everyone's eyes and expectations are upon you.Naruto broke the silence with one,simple question "Why me?" Temari's gaze softened and she said silently "Your...your Gaara's friend...and he trusts you." A small smile flashed on Naruto's face.He gripped the battered scroll with determination "I will go then!!I promise,I'll be there in less than a day!!"He turned away from Tsunade and stepped towards the door.As he left,he heard a still whisper state "Thankyou,Naruto."  
**To Be Continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The leafs danced among the wind as Naruto sped by.He made a sudden stop at a ridge to look apoun the sand village.It looked as if the village was made of the purest gold,the sinking sun shown it's beautiful golden rays on the village as if smiling a lovely smile before it's completely veiled by the black blanket of stars.The sun by now was completely asleep under this blanket.The moon's gentle rays rippled like crystal clear water across the sea of pearls.Naruto smiled at the scene taking place before him."A nice way to end a mission." were his thoughts.But...unknown to him,his mission was by far longer and more painful in more ways than one.

-Later - Naruto entered the village.Gaara stood at the inside of the gate,awaiting Temari and Kankuro.-

"Oi!!Gaara!!" an unusually shocked Gaara spun around and was suprised to see Naruto approaching him."Naruto!What are you doing here?"Naruto explained quickly what happend to Kankuro and Temari "Oh.I see.Did you bring the scroll?"Naruto nodded and dug into his back pocket.He pulled out the scroll.Without a word,Gaara took hold of it and read it.What was once a steady hand was now shaking.Naruto took notice of this and asked "Hey what's wrong?When are the sound attacking?" Gaara snapped the scroll shut and looked at Naruto seriously in the eye "Naruto.The sound will not be attacking us for another month." Naruto sighed in relief. "No they're not attacking us yet..."Gaara continued "tonight they're striking Konoha!!" Naruto turned pale."Th-the village?TONIGHT?!" Naruto paused but quickly asked "When are they attacking?" Gaara skimmed the scroll quickly and said "They're...attacking right now."Naruto's eyes grew really small and he took a step back."Gaara...thankyou.I need to return to the village now.Make sure to get ready for the sound when they come for your village!!" Naruto dashed off at twice the speed as he went when coming to the village.Gaara stood there,wishing "Naruto...be careful..."

_-Konoha - at that moment-_

"Sasuke what's wrong?" Sakura asked him "You've been standing there glaring at the village's gate for a while now!!" Sasuke whispered to Sakura without taking away his stare "Sakura!!Do you sense...the masses of enemies approaching us?I feel their intense chakra closing in fast - They're here!!" Sasuke suddenly shouted.He drew his dreadly blade out and took his stance.Sound ninja came in flooding the worn gates.The deadly wave of ninjas closed in on Sasuke.He flashed his hand signs "Phonix Flower Jutsu!!"the flames smoldered the wave,but more followed.Sasuke snatched Sakura's hand and started to run.He told her "Come on!!We have to retreat until we find out what's going on here!!" Sasuke jumped from roof to roof with Sakura dangling behind him.He looked around about him - all of Konoha was fighting under a few moments.Sasuke spotted Shikamaru and thought "He's smart.He should know something!!"  
Sasuke jumped over to Shikamaru.He was using his "Shadow Bind Justsu" on 3 sound ninja.Sasuke jumped over to him and let go of Sakura's wrist "Shikamaru what is going on here?" he replied "I don't know...maybe they want to finish what they started 3 years ago uggh during the Chuunin exam!!"  
**To Be Continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A sound ninja lunged at Sasuke with shurikens in hand.Sasuke dodged this pitiful attack and quickly countered it with a tai-jutsu kick.Sasuke,without lowering his guard,said to Shikamaru "No.That wouldn't be the case.When I was with Orochimaru,he kept talking about some 'Ultamite power of Hokages' before I killed him.Then he mentioned about Konoha sitting hosting that power somewhere.I really don't understand it myself,but apparently Kabuto knows something about this we don't."Shikamaru threw the sound ninja he was fighting away and looked questioningly at Sasuke "Who is this Kabuto?" Sasuke quickly stated "He was the right hand of Orochimaru.And before I came back here,he took command of the Sound village.He's just as powerful as Orochimaru now,or even more."Sasuke knocked another sound away.He looked over to see if Sakura was okay...a tear appeared on Sasuke's head.Sakura held an unconcious sound ninja like a bat.She had a evil twinkle in her eye and a twisted smile.3 sound appoached her head on.She swung and with each hit she shouted "Strike 1!!Strike 2!!Strike 3!!YOUR OUT!!Mwuaaah-ah-ah-ah-ahhhhhh!!"Those frightened ninja were sent hurdling into the sky,along with her human bat.She suddenly turned around to face the sound ninja who was trying to sneak up behind her.She clinched her fist and cracked her knuckles.Her sweet-fake voice spilled from her lips "Okay!!Who's next?"The greatly terrified ninja sped away with all of his might.Sakura stuck her tounge out in the ninja's direction "Nah nah!!Scaredy cat!!"Sasuke shook his shock away and sternly shouted at her "Sakura!!This is no time for games!!If we don't watch it,the village will be destroyed!!Right Shik-ughh!!"While speaking to her,a sound snuck up from behind and knocked out Sasuke and Shikamaru.Sakura ran over to help them and get the sound ninja...but he dissapeared.Sakura gasped - she felt a kunai at her neck.A snake like but familular voice came from behind her "Don't worry.We won't be the ones to destroy your village - Naruto will.You and his friends will be the key."Kabuto's hand then glowed with powerful chakra and struck Sakura in the neck.As she blacked out,she said "Y-you Kabuto..."she then fell over along with Sasuke.

Tsunade stood atop the Hokage's mansion with just finishing an easely won fight with 4 sound ninja.She glared at the darkening sky.A single drop of rain spilled out of the clouds and onto her white,soft nose.Tsunade thought "This fighting has already gone on for 4 hours now,and not one portion of the village has been destroyed.They even used the front gate!!What is that Kabuto schemeing...this rain might mean something is about to happen to change the coarse of this village."

Naruto bolted towards the leaf village,meeting more and more resistance as he got closer.He felt two ninja breathing on his neck.He sighed heavily and pulled a hodini on the ninjas.He reapeared above them and pummeled them to the ground.Naruto continued on his way,as thoughts and images of the village's probable condition haunted his mind.

Naruto spotted the village in the distance an hour and over a 100 bruised sounds later.He picked up even more speed as he dashed away.

"Please Please be okay..."He repeated under his breath.It was getting harder and harder to keep up his speed for the long run to the sand and back not to mention no sleep for 2 days was beginning to take natural and expected effects.Thoughts of his friends in danger was the only thing driving him beyond human limitations.

At last he stood before the village gates.His eyes grew small at the site!The village was totalled!Not one building or house was left unscathed.But what was most horrifying was yet to come.

Naruto stepped nervously down the small dirt roads through the village.He turned a corner and saw the most inhuman site "E-everyone - th-they're..." strewned all about him were his friends,or at least what remained of them.Blood red kunai blanketed the bodies with hard,cold dirt to cushion them.Naruto panicly glanced all about him "K-kiba...Neji...Hinata...everyone..." and then he saw what he never thought and wanted to ever lay eyes upon - Sasuke and Sakura lying stiff as cardboard against a building nearby.He ran over to his friend's bodies and nelt beside them.He placed his trembling fingers on Sakura's icy cold hand."H-how?How did this happen?"Clasps of thunder sounded all about him that accompanied his rage.The black clouds above silently started to cry crystal drops of water to comfort Naruto's tears.  
**To Be Continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

A dark,snake-like voice sneered from behind Naruto "Hello Naruto."Naruto quickly spun around into the face he despised almost as much as Orochimaru.He hissed "Kabuto.YOUR the one who led the attack!!"He clinched his fist and aimed a punch right at Kabuto's smirking face.He dodge quickly and landed nimbly onto the ground out of range from Naruto's attacks.Kabuto

laughed "Isn't it a wonderful site?Everyone dead and Konoha destroyed - just the way Orochimaru-sama wanted it."Naruto's anger just rose and rose with each little remark.His eyes glanced down at Sakura and Sasuke's cold faces.His darkening stare then flew right back at Kabuto.Naruto drew some kunai from his back pocket and flung then at Kabuto.He easly caught all 3 of

them,but then felt cold metal touch his cheek.Naruto stood silent but deadly behind Kabuto,ready to ... him at any moment.Naruto whispered "This is the end."and struck his neck.Suddenly the body disperesed into thin air."Naruto glanced

around until he heard the shifting of approaching feet from behind which quickly caught his attetion.Naruto instinctivly drew a kunai,spun around and clashed his kunai against Kabuto's.Kabuto smirked "You've gotten better.Has the Jinchuuriki been

training?"Naruto ground his teeth together and pushed Kabuto back.The look of blood lust in Naruto's eyes was overwhelming.Kabuto saw Naruto's eyes flash from blue to red.He took a stance and thought "Just a bit more Naruto..."

"mmmmm..."Sakura blinked here eyes.She jolted up at the rememerance that the village was being attacked.She looked

around her surroundings.Nothing much - just a REALLY dark room.She couldn't see a thing.Sakura tried to move but something was weighing her down.She took a look behind her and saw a blue haired head."Awwoh!!Sassssaee!!mmmfff?!"Her mouth was taped shut,and her waist was tied with Sasuke's.Sasuke tilted his head as much as he could and said to her "Stay still.Don't move a muscle."She froze,scarred something was going to happen.Something flashed around her and then quiet.Sakura moved around - the ropes were gone!!Sasuke edged his blade

back into it's sheath and stood up.Sakura ripped the tape off of her mouth and started to say "What's going on Sasu-"she was cut off by Sasuke who held up his hand."Shoosh.Sakura,we're sealed inside one of Konoha's weapen storages.And take

a look at which one WE"RE in."He allowed a small flow of chakra to his hand so the room was covered in a brilliant glow.Sakura gasped "Th-the bombs and exploding tags!!"she glanced down to see one of them slowely burning "And one of them is about to blow!!One flame in here and-" "We're dead"Sasuke finished.He put out his chakera flame."I wonder why

Kabuto would go to the trouble of tieing us if the tag would get us anyway?...Whatever,we'll figure that out later.Right now,the others have probably been sealed off as well.We have to save them and then find Naruto."Sakura agreed.Sasuke unsheathed his sword.Faster than the eye could follow,he sliced up the door seal.They both ran out as fast as they could.Suddenly the store house blew up completely!!Bomb after bomb blew up and continuous blasts were heard.The smoke

made the skys even darker.Sasuke turned to Sakura after watching the display of deadly fireworks "Let's find the others.Quickly!!Find as many as you can and then meet back here!!" then they both took off in oppisite directions.

Later,Sasuke approached the proper meeting spot.Following him was Kiba,Shikamaru,Chouji,Kankuro(on crutches),Shino and Temari.Sakura had Lee,Eno,Ten-ten,Hinata and Neji.  
Sasuke asked "Is this everyone?"Sakura huffed and shook her head "We're still one blondie short."Sasuke nodded and turned to everyone else "Look.While I was looking for you all I spotted Naruto find Kabuto,and it looks like he's in trouble."Hinata gasped and whisphered "Is he alright?"Sasuke nodded "...For now.Let's all go join him.I bet he's fighting for

his life."Sasuke's face grew dangerously serious "And I mean it."Neji demanded "What do you mean?" Sasuke shook his head "When I was still hanging around the sound with Orochimaru,I would sometimes see,without his knowledge,Kabuto working secretly on some dark jutsus.I mean,they were more horrific than Orochimaru himself.I bet he was planning against Orochimaru the whole time,but wished for the destruction of Konoha as much as he did."Sasuke then sensed something in

the air - that he REALLY didn't like!!He clinched his teeth '_I know that type of chakra!!It's just as I thought,Kabuto's going to use "IT"!!_' Sasuke shouted at everyone in a panic "Hurry!!There isn't much time!!Naruto's in dead danger!!"Sasuke then bolted across the roofs towards Naruto's direction.Everyone followed him,but Sakura lingered behind them,deep in thought '_I...I never saw Sasuke so worked up before!!He knows something about Kabuto...'_

Sasuke literally flew at break-necking speed across the roof tops towards Naruto.Sakura and Shikamaru were hardly able to keep up Sasuke's pace as everyone else fell furthur behind."Wait up!!"Kiba yelled.Lee chimed in "Yea!!You know we can't keep up with you!"  
Sasuke's ears grew deaf to all the voices around him as he tried to remember what he saw no more than a few months ago...

_-FlashBack-_

_Orochimaru's Lair _  
_tmp tmp tmp of Sasuke's feet were the only sounds that could be heard in this haunting place.Sasuke's footsteps on the cold_

_ pavement suddenly stopped.He sensed some...unusually strange chakra coming from a room near by.He quieted his steps and dashed over to the area he felt it."It feels similar to Orochimaru's...but sightly different...it feels even more sinister and powerful.And something else to consider is that Orochimaru is out today."Sasuke took notice of the door at the end of the hall was_

_ slightly opened.He peeked in to see Kabuto performing some kind of experiment.Kabuto held up his hand and placed it on the head of a shivering girl with blue hair,who was in a sealed cage.He allowed some kind of yellow chakra flow out of his hand - something that Sasuke's never seen before."What is that...?" Kabuto lifted his hand away,took a step back,and then blasted her with the chakra that surrounded her.She screamed in horror - apparently something was going wrong inside her.Kabuto lifted the chakra_

_ away from her.The girl had stopped screaming in pain...but a low,threatening growl came from her.Her eyes turned pitch black with thin white slits for her pupils.A mixture of black and white chakra enveloped her body and took the shape similar to a wolf.She howled and then roared a deftifying roar mixed with pure bloodlust and anger.Kabuto,unfazed by her actions,pulverized her once again with the strange chakra but did not let up this time.Another chakra tail grew,a 3rd,4th...until 6 were formed.What a horrifying_

_ site!!Her body was no longer visible but now pitch black.The chakra wolf ears and tails were tipped in white.Kabuto,out of chakra and stamina,released the chakra from her.He held his hands in the sign of the ram(sheep)."Suppress!!"he shouted quickly.The seal on the now battered cage grew larger and wrapped around the young girl.The seal supressed the demonic chakra and she turned back to normal,but seriously injured.Sasuke walked calmely away as though he had saw nothing but his thoughts were running wild_

_ "That form...looked awfully similar to the way Naruto looked when we fought at the Valley of the End.Is she a Jiikchurikan too?"_

_-End of Flashback-_

"...and then when I "disposed" of Orochimaru,I saw her among the ones I freed. Hope she's okay...she sustained some pretty bad injuries from all of the experiments Kabuto did. I remember that he learned some dangerous techniques...at which all are at Naruto's disadvantage!!" Suddenly he sensed something that he certainly didn't want to - that yellow chakra!! Sasuke ran even faster...it started to rain.  
**To Be Continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Naruto struggled to get back up.Kabuto had severely damaged his arm's limbs,to the point that he could no longer perform rasegan.'Shoot!!What am I going to do know?Even if I tried to creat any shadow clones,they'd have broken arms to ...And,I'm not allowed to use the Kyuubi chakra unless yamato's around.I guess my only option would be rasegan...argh!But I can't use

it!How am I gonna beat Kabuto',Naruto's thoughts raced in panic.He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to blot out his doubts.He heard the silent taps of Kabuto's shoes in the puddles of rain closing in fast.Fear then grasped him and refused to let go.Naruto's thoughts began to become one tract 'I'm going to die!!He's going to ... me!!He's getting closer!!Stay away,I

don't want to die!!'Kabuto leaped up into the brinks of the sky,pulled out a kunai,and rocketed downward to him.Naruto remained still,fear of death gripping paralizing him.'I'm going to die just like Sakura and Sasuke-'  
His eyes burst open with more blue intensity and determination than ever 'NO!I will NOT die!!' Kabuto's target disapeared

from sight.Kabuto hesitated a moment then landed on the ground.Behind him,he could sense intense,rotating chakra.He turned his head sideways to see a blue sphere heading towards him.Kabuto reconized it right away "That's Rasegan!!"He looked shocked at first,but that soon turned to a smirk.At the last second right before impact,Kabuto jumped up and kicked a

powerful jab into Naruto's stomach.He yelped in pain -the rasengan disapeared.He fell to the ground and struggled to get back up.But Kabuto quickly kicked him back down and held him there.Naruto fiercly glared at Kabuto with intense bloodlust.Kabuto chuckled at this expression.He then bent down and spoke with a snake like tone similar to Orochimaru's

"Don't worry.I won't ... you nor will I destroy this village.But I shall be the trigger for the destruction of Konoha.'Someone else' shall be the explosion."

Kabuto continued to place great strain on Naruto's chest and kept pushing his foot further.Naruto flinched and gasped for air.Kabuto felt eyes upon his back at this time that were invisible to Naruto 'I think Sasuke and everyone else is catching on to

what I'm doing...better use IT now.' he thought.He made the hand signs - boar,dragon,snake,tiger,dog...and he held the dog sign in place.His left hand then began to glow an eerie yellow chakra that had dangerous written all over it.Sasuke signaled the others behind him to wait.Then without turning he began to speak "Okay.I have a plan.Team Gai."Ten-ten,Lee,and Neji

stepped foward " You guys have the most power in taking out multiple enemies out all at once.Go around and take out any sound that you see."They saluted "Hai!!"then disapeared.Sasuke motioned Kiba's team."I need you to look for the 5th Tsunade.I don't know if she was captured or just somewhere in the village fighting.Use Akamaru's nose,Hinata's

Byakugan,and Shino's bugs to scout her out along with any other hidden leaf residents to make sure they're safe." After carefully listening,they left out on their mission as well.He turned to the final team of Eno,Chouji,and Shikamaru "You stay here for back up incase it's needed." They nodded and remained.Sasuke spoke to Sakura "...Wait here along with them as

back-up too."Sakura looked angry "Sasuke!!You know I-" She saw a look of fear in Sasuke's eyes.She nodded reluctently and spoke nothing.'I know he's hiding something.I just know it.' she thought.Sasuke stood up and dashed over towards Kabuto and Naruto.

"This is it."Kabuto said victoriously.He lunged his chakra ingulfed hand towards Naruto...WHOOOOOSSSSHHHHa gust of wind blew from behind him.Suddenly Kabuto found it harder to breath and pressure inclosing his neck.Sasuke had a VERY strong grip on his neck.Sasuke glared coldly at him "Don't you dare use that jutsu on him!!I know what would happen,and I'll never

allow it." Chidori burst from his hand and plunged it into the heart... of a log?!"Shoot...substitution..." Sasuke casted away the lifeless log and glanced around.' I don't since his chakra...maybe it's safe for the moment.' he thought.He jumped over to where Naruto lied - he was aparently paralized from shock and genjutsu.Sasuke lifted him over his shoulder and carried him

to a wall of a building near by. He set him down and held up a sign of the ram "Release!" he shouted and touched Naruto's head.Naruto didn't wake up.Sasuke looked and saw that Naruto was gravely injured.'No wonder Kabuto was able to hold him

down.' Sasuke then felt the presence of a chakra approaching from behind.He gritted his teeth and readied his blade.Kabuto dashed forward "This time,Sasuke,I'm stronger than you!!"Kabuto hit Sasuke in the back of his neck with his medical chakra in hand.He tumbled to the ground and whispered "Sorry Naruto..."Kabuto kicked him away.

Sakura,Eno,Chouji,and Shikamaru quickly saw this as a sign of back-up desparatly needed.Kabuto snatched a kunai out of his pocket when they were noticed and threw it to the ground infront of them.It snapped a camouflaged rope which gave way to a dark pit in the ground - right infront of the small back-up party.A chorus of screams echoed out from the black pit - which

grew further away with each passing second until heard no more.Kabuto smirked and turned to Naruto who had woke from the screaming.He was pale as a ghost as he stared from where he sat at the giant hole which took his friends away.He trembled violently with hopeless pleading eyes did not budge from their veiw.Kabuto did those same hand signs and yellow

glowed from his left hand once more.He was completely silent.The air was cold and still.Kabuto then suddenly lunged at Naruto.He held his chakra coated hand out and aimed towards the Kyuubi's sealing point on Naruto's stomach. 'Finally.The village hidden in the leaves will be no more!!' he thought confidently.3 feet away...2 feet...

1 FOOT...WhooooooossshCcccchhhhcht!

**To Be Continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Naruto's hand grasped Kabuto's, just before it hit."I am going...to save my friends and the !!"He screamed.His Aquamarine eyes flashed brighter and full of determination.He used his free hand to charge a powerful punch that knocked Kabuto away.He managed to land on his feet but his gut really felt the pain,which brought him down to a knee.Naruto slowely but surely stood up,his chakra bursting out like crazy and swirling all around him.Naruto clinched his teeth as a lingering thought made him hesitate.  
_"Naruto.That version of Rasegan is very dangerous.Not just for others,but for you.Using it repeatedly could cost you your arm,and perhaps even worse.NEVER use that jutsu again!"_Tsunade's grave warning repeated in his mind.Naruto shook these thoughts away and glared at where Kabuto stood 'NO!I have to use the jutsu,no matter what the cost!'.

Naruto held out his hand and began to rotate visable blue chakra in his palm.It grew larger with every second,air currents hovered around the sphere of wind blades not visable to the naked eye."RASENGAN!!" he shouted.The 4th's surpasser sped like a bullet towards Kabuto,building more and more speed as he moved.Naruto raised his hand holding the blue bladed sphere and pushed it towards Kabuto with increased intensity...

Naruto gathered all of the strength he had into this ultamite rasengan.As he neared Kabuto, he

spun his spherical shaped chakra wildly. Naruto leaped up over the awed expessioned Kabuto and

forced his hand down at him."AAAAAAGGGHHH!! RASENGAAAAANN!!" He shouted with all his

might.'Darn it...' Kabuto thought as he posed ready for the attack 'those failed attempts at him has

drained most of my chakra...I can only do the jutsu at half the power and effectiveness!' Naruto

threw his hand at him - there was impact!...but on what? Naruto didn't care - he just knew that

Kabuto was probably dead if it hit.The force released cause a great blinding light that caused Naruto

to flinch.He then felt a stinging jab in his stomach that caused him to collapse.The light faded away

and revealed all answers as to what happened.Kabuto held a tight grip on Naruto's right hand which

still held Rasengan...but it slowely faded away.He then used his right free hand to charge his erie,

yellow half-powered chakra and jab Naruto in the stomach where his Kyuubi seal was placed.

Kabuto stood up and allowed Naruto to fall to the ground in an unconsious heap.

"Sound assemble!" he shouted loudly.All of the sound in the village immediately appeared before

him."Our business is finished here.The village is as well as gone.Retreat to the Land of Sound base

at once!" "Hai!" a chorus of voices spirted and soon took their leave. The sound had left the village,

but the danger... and the rain had not.

Over a little ways from where Naruto lied, Sasuke had finally regained his surroundings and

struggled to stand-up. When he noticed Naruto lying on the cold ground unmoving, his strength in

his legs instantly returned. Sasuke quickly ran over and stood above Naruto. Flashbacks of the time

they fought at the Valley of the End three years ago returned to haunt him. 'I was such a fool then...

This rain pulls the darkest memories of mine out into the light.This situation was just like then I

suppose...' then he shook his head as if to disagree with himself 'No.This was nothing like that

time.Naruto was hurt not by me but by someone more evil than Orochimaru, and I couldn't help one

bit...DARN IT!!' he yelled in his head.His eyes held all kinds of bitter emotions at once; a site that

you can only see to believe. He clinched his fists until they began to bleed.'Again...I was useless...'

He then composed himself after a bit of thinking and tossed those memories of fateful mistakes into a dark, bottomless pit.

Sasuke looked around to see the damage of the village "Not much damage...hmmmm." 'What is that Kabuto up too?' His attention

was once again on Naruto's well being.He slowly nelt beside him. Sasuke could hear Naruto breathing and sighed with relief. He

gently lifted Naruto over his broad shoulders and caried him over to a nearby house.He laid him against the wall of the porch and out

of the rain.He gazed at him for a moment, then quickly turned and ran over to where he saw Sakura and team Shikamaru fell. 'I

reconize this! This is a trap door that leads under Konoha for war purposes.I remember reading about it when I was still in the

Academy. There's a secret door around here somewhere...' Sasuke walked over and looked around the back of a certain building for

...something. His eyes grew wide as if he had come across something. He took out a kunai and struck the ground in a certain

spot. The grass slid away and stairs appeared suddenly in the ground.He left the kunai in its place and calmly treaded down the

flight of underground stairs.

After a bit, he came to the place where the trap door was just set right above him. He looked below into a dug out pit to see four

stunned Chuunins sprawled on a cushioned floor. Sasuke leaped into the pit and landed right before Sakura. She looked up at him,

blushed severely, and stood up quickly."S-Sasuke! Boy, did you scare me. Did you come to save me? " Sasuke ignored her and

asked "How is everyone else?" Sakura smiled "Hai! The floor was softened so we were just fine when we fell..." she paused and her

smile disappeared "...where's Naruto? " Sasuke closed his and shook his head "You should probably take a look at him. Kabuto

beat him pretty badly." Sakura nodded without a word and motioned for the others to follow them out.

Sasuke stepped up the stairs and helped the others out. After everyone was out, Sasuke remove the kunai in the ground and slipped

it back into his pocket.The stairs collapsed and the grass smoothly slid over the spot, camouflaging the passage once more.

The rain hadn't let up. If anything, it got worse. Sasuke scanned the area for any of the teams.

He found what he was looking for - in the distance he saw both teams approaching. Team Gai came first. "We managed to knock out many of the sound ninjas, but then  
suddenly we heard someone shout retreat and then they all dashed out of the village gates." Neji reported. Sasuke nodded "Kabuto,

who was leading them, ordered a retreat after his fight with Naruto." "Is Naruto okay?" Lee asked.Sasuke didn't say a word, still thinking about what kinds of effects that jutsu Kabuto hit Naruto.

'Maybe it won't take effect since Kabuto didn't have enough chakra left to release a full powered attack.' "Uhh...Sasuke?" Lee questioned.Sasuke broke his daze and said half hearted  
"...Yeah.He'll be fine. Sakura's going to take a look at him." Kiba's team then arrived.Shino took a step foward "We found the 5th locked away in a heavily sealed chamber that we couldn't break. Even she couldn't break it apart with her super strength. Where the other jonins are is still a mystery. "

"Take me to where Tsunade is. I'll tell you what happend to the Jonins later." Sasuke ordered.  
--

They came up to a house near the rear of the village.Inside the one room house was a giant cage that Tsunade was punching.

"Good work, Sasuke. "Tsunade congratulated him "That seal was even impossible for me to break.How did you do it?" Sasuke  
smirked, even leaked a laugh or two "There's an unsealing button right over there against the cage." THUD everyone fell over.

Hinata's face was flushed in red "I-I'm sorry...I didn't see it with my Byakugan..."

Sasuke's serious face returned "Tsunade. Naruto is in bad shape right now after fighting Kabuto. I'm not exactly sure if his

injuries are life threatening or not..." She nodded in understanding and turned to Sakura "Sakura! You and all of the other teams go

to the outskirts of the village and look out for any sound that might be in hiding or if any return. I'm going with Sasuke to see Naruto."

"Hai" rang out of their mouths and then they dashed away to the village wall's lookouts."Now explain what happend between Kabuto and Naruto." Sasuke looked away with a seriously thoughtful expression. Tsunade grew suspicious...and quiet.After a few moments,Sasuke broke the silence with few words "...let's go.Naruto's probably getting worse." and with that they both took off, with their destination being their best friend.

**To Be Continued...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Sasuke remained silent as he and Tsunade flew from roof to roof towards Naruto. Tsunade was

starting to get ticked off with this 'silent treatment' "Sasuke! Tell me now what happened!

"Sasuke sighed deeply " Kabuto ….." he paused for a bit then continued "Kabuto used some kind

of jutsu on Naruto that he created specifically for Jinchuuriki…

--(he explained what he witnessed at Orochimaru's lab years ago)--

"If what you say is true, I know exactly what kind of jutsu that was. Sasuke! Lets pick-up the pace!

There isn't much time left! " Tsunade quickly huffed under her breath. She stopped suddenly on

the tip of a large pole, pushed all of her charka into her feet, and then speed off like a

rocket(literally.) Sasuke quickened his pace also, thinking 'I'd hate to get in a fight with her…'

--

'uggghh……man my head hurts …hey! Where am I?' Naruto thought in his head. His voice

echoed through-out the halls of this sewer like place. "Ha ha haa! So brat your finally here?"

Naruto's eyes widened in fear at the familiar, booming voice. He slowly turned around to be face

to face to a giant fox "Kyuubi! What's going on here?" The evil fox chuckled in pleasure " It seems

as if the seal on me has temporarily 'shut off'." 'No!' Naruto grew more fearful. He knew what was

going to happen. A giant claw shot out of the cage and grabbed Naruto. He turned pale as the fox

held him right in front of his deadly face. The fox chuckled once more "Even if the seal won't be

off forever, I can still use you to destroy this village once more! " The evil ninetails gripped Naruto

even harder, knowing he was completely helpless. Naruto felt as if all of his bones were breaking in the grasp of the evil demon. ' What's going to happen to me?...No, what's

going to happen to the village?' he struggled in a vain attempt to be freed from Kyuubi's grasp 'I can't get free…'

When Sasuke and Tsunade reached a certain point, Sasuke pointed to a spot in the distance and said to her "There! That's where I set Naruto." As they neared she saw the young blonde boy resting against the wall of a porch... but something wasn't right to her. "Sasuke. Do you...feel something?Something...ominous?" Sasuke had a very questioned look on his face "No. I don't-" right then out of no where, he sensed something lurking in the air "Just now-! There's something coming!"

Tsunade nodded in understanding. Sasuke broke a sweat as he jumped off of the roof he was running on and down to where Naruto lied. Tsunade followed. They both gasped in shock. Even with Naruto still unconcious, you could see that the transformation was begining. His teeth were growing rapidly and his hands and feet grew claws. Though he was sleeping, his furious presence already enough to let small animals and bugs know to not mess with him. Tsunade dashed over to him and ran her hand along his chest - feeling for the chakra running through his chakra valves. "I-I never knew the Kyuubi's chakra

could be so incredibly powerful at this state!" She exclaimed in wonder. As the chakra grew more powerful, the brilliant sanin began feeling extreme heat emitting from Naruto. 'Oh no!' she jumped back just a split second before seathingly hot chakra bursted from his body and formed around him. His one-tailed transformation completed! The chakra lifted Naruto up into a stance. Sasuke looked on in amazement 'It's controling him like a puppet!' Naruto's hand lifted up and released the

extentional, red chakra arm which was aimed as a punch at Sasuke and Tsunade. They both jumped out of the way just in time without so much as a scratch, but the buildings behind them weren't so lucky. Three homes came crashing down - fortunately with no one inside. 'What are we going to do? Everytime we dodge, part of the village is totalled.' Tsunade thought. She bit her lip hard 'This is definately NOT the best place to fight.'

_-Look-out tower #47-Same time-_

"Yaaaaaawwwnnnnn...This look-out job is the pits.So trouble-some..." Shikamaru complained. "Quit whining Shikamaru! This isn't some light job! We could be attacked at any moment!" Ino scolded. Sakura sighed deeply and stretched her arms out. She gazed out of the window on lookout reluctently.'Why was I stuck on lookout with these two slackers? Wish I could have been on lookout along side Hinata or Shino...' She turned around with an annoyed expression on her face - Ino and Shikamaru were now having an all out vocal war! She turned back around to where she was looking and sighed even heavier than before 'Forget Hinata or Shino - I'd take ANYBODY over these two! And whose bright idea was it to mix-up the team members?! I'd love to punch 'em right now!'

Neji, Shino, and Lee were all silent(an incredible new idea to Lee; SILENCE!!) Neji shifted his eyes around suspicously 'Hmmm... I feel something...' He stood up with the notice of Lee and Shino."What's the problem Neji?" Shino asked, voice overflowing with no emotion. 'Byakugan!' Neji activated. He scanned the leafvillage and it's surroundings - nothing's happening. 'Maybe it was my imagination...but- that chakra I sensed was familiar to the chakra Naruto had when I fought him

4 years ago at the Chuunin exam.' he was just about to recall his Byakugan when he took notice of the far-away chakra properties of Tsunade, Sasuke, and... his eyes widened greatly 'I-is that Naruto's chakra?! It's so...monstrous!! So frighteningly overwhelming!' Shino took notice of the fear portrayed on his face. Lee noticed too "Neji!! Do you see something?" Neji snapped out of his terrified trance and turned to Lee "Lee! Shino! Something's happening to Naruto! It seems as if his chakra is manifesting something...something horrible. It's rapidly growing in power, and I'm not sure if it'll ever stop! We have to hurry over to assist Tsunade and Sasuke! Radio the others to come took, though I'm sure lady Hinata has already taken notice of this ominous chakra as well." Suddenly, a large explosion was seen around where Naruto, Sasuke, and Tsunade were located. Neji leaped out the window with Shino and Lee following."Let's hurry!" Neji shouted behind him.

The hot, crimson chakra arm withdrew its barrage of thrusts and shrunk back to normal size surrounding Naruto's hand. The building he had hit were no more. The remains burned down to charcoal from the flaming chakra. Tsunade lunged at him with a fist of a gentle green colored chakra imiting from it 'If I temporarily shut-down Naruto's chakra system, the red chakra can't come thru! Of all the times, I could sure use a Hyuuga in this situation.' She leapt over his head ,plunged her hand into the

red-hot chakra, and punctured his back with visable,green chakra needles to temporarily stop the chakra from flooding out. Then the glowing needles sank under Naruto's skin. The red chakra surrounding Naruto suddenly disapeared. He fell down towards the ground, but Sasuke materialized just in time to catch him. As he held him, Sasuke could feel the immense chakra of the ninetales trying to break thru the needles. Tsunade casually walked over to Naruto and took a look at the needle's placement "These needles will hold back Naruto's chakra for about 15 minutes. Once they disapear though, the chakra will be 10 times as powerful which means I won't be able to use this technique again to stop it." Sasuke gulped and looked upon

Naruto 'He looks so innocent. Wouldn't even give you the slightest clue what he harbors within him...' then he set Naruto gently to the ground infront of him. Tsunade sighed and healed the burns on her hands she recieved from coming in contact with the blazing chakra."Sasuke...did you fight Naruto when he was like this? 3 years ago I mean?" Sasuke looked a little taken back by this, but calmly replied "Yeah...until now I almost forgot how powerful that form was. Now the scars from that fight have reimerged to remind me." He winced a little from the rememberance.

They both then became alert when they heard a soft groaning from below."Naruto!" Sasuke whispered. Naruto slowly sat up while sleeply blinking his eyes "Huuhhhhgh?Huh?" his blurry vision then became clear. He noticed the two figures infront of him - and reconized them! "Old Granny!! Sasuke!! Your alive!!" he shouted. A fist of anger whamed his head hard; it was Tsunade's "What do you mean 'Old Granny'?!" Naruto shuddered a bit. But then his expression turned to a hint of relief and

question "Sasuke, I thought you and Sakura-chan died!! And the village -" he gazed around at the buildings that he just a bit ago saw totally in ruins "It isn't destroyed! What's going on here?" He then noticed that behind Sasuke and Tsunade were some vaporized remains of a few buildings with a few flames still burning "what happend with those?" Tsunade sighed and crouched down 'til her eyes reflected in his and likewise "Naruto. When you fought Kabuto, he had secretly placed you under genjutsu. His men did absolutely nothing to the village, no more than capture everyone and store them somewhere well

hidden in the village. The most damage to the village -" she pointed to the burned building remains "- came from you." Naruto looked down, understanding completely what she ment by that. He remembered clearly the conflict between him and the fox. Naruto looked back up into Tsunade's eyes. He looked like he was about to burst with tears. Tsunade pitied him for a moment 'He looks so helpless...' She shook away the comforting intuition.

After Naruto calmed down a bit, he told Tsunade of what the Kyuubi had told him. "The seal - 'temporarily' turned off?! Well, if that's true there still may be some hope left for us. I'm going to head off towards the look-out towers to get Neji and Hinata. They're the only ones who can seal chakra points for a very long period of time. Sasuke, stay here and keep a close eye on

Naruto. If I'm not back in time to stop him after my needles wear off, knock him out...wait, that wouldn't work. Just use some kind of jutsu to beat him up." "Ehhhh?!" Naruto looked at her in disbelief. She stood up and jumped up to the roofs and darted towards her destination. Naruto looked at Sasuke nervously "B-BEAT ME UP?!" Sasuke smirked with an evil glint in his eyes "Yep! And I'm NOT going easy on you! I'll even use Chidori 'I promise I won't aim for your vitals' if I have to." Naruto

looked like he was going to have a heart-attack! Sasuke chuckled a bit at the hilarious expression on his face. But then he composed himself effortlessly(as usual:d) and asked him "Naruto, do you have ANY control over that ... red chakra of yours?" Naruto looked away and bluntly answered "It's not mine - it belongs to some heartless demon who is bent on destroying our village!" He opened his hand and stared at it. He remembered the time when he had hurt Sakura with that uncontrollable power. He clinched his hand closed. Stinging pain jabbed him in his heart.  
**To Be Continued...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Tsunade bounced from roof to roof at incredible speed, trying not to waste any time at all.'Shoot... I've only 10 minutes...sure wish Neji or Hinata were close by...' . It seemed as if luck was smiling upon her that day even if for a moment, for who just flew in the oppisite direction of her? Hinata, Neji, and the ones who were posted with them at the towers. Tsunade wavered a bit and stopped 'Good things do happen every once in a while...' "HEY!! NEJI!! HINATA!! ...EVERYONE!!" The young Chuunins

(plus one Jonin) stopped in their tracks to look back "Tsunade!!" they all cried. Tsunade jumped over to the same roof the teens stood on and took a deep breath in relief. She then went on to explain the situation "Neji! Hinata! I need you to come with me. ONLY you two though. The rest of you go back to the look-out towers with your original partners and -" she paused to pose a serious expression "whatever you do, DO NOT come to us." Shino stepped foward "Why is that Tsunade-sama?" She glared at him for a moment. Then she said to the two Hyuugas "Come. We have to hurry." Tsunade darted away with

Neji and Hinata following closely behind her. The left behind Chuunin were a little upset at this. "Man this stinks! The look-out towers are B-O-R-I-N-G!" Kiba said with a yawn. Chouji commented childishly "Wow, he can actually spell!"(Chouji ran out of chips - that's why he's being grumpy)Kiba growled at him "Why you- " "Stop it now." Shino stated calmly. Silence rained down on them. Lee then suggested "Why not we go follow them? They're probably fighting with all of their might. We should

suprise them and help out!!" Kiba laughed "Yeah! Sure better than hang'n out with potato-chip boy!!" Chouji glared at him with extreme intensity. Lee then said "I'll go back to the tower that Sakura, Eno, and Shikamaru are and tell them to come along. You guys go ahead - we'll catch up with the power of youth!" With wierded out faces from that last statement, Shino, Kiba, and Chouji dashed off towards where Tsunade and the Hyuugas were heading. Shino thought to himself 'This is way better than listening to that idiot chant about 'youth'...'

Sasuke and Naruto sat silently without so much as a word. The rain meanwhile continued to pour, which eventually put out the flames of the buildings' remains. Naruto shivered every once in a while from the force of the red chakra pushing hard in him to get out. Sasuke could feel the evil presence growing stronger with every moment's passing. He questioned that he would be able to hold this force back or not. 'Geez... he could probably ... me if the ninetale's chakra comes out... Hurry Tsunade!'

Tsunade, Neji, and Hinata made their way thru half of the village and still had a little ways to go before they would reach Naruto and Sasuke were. After a bit of silence, Tsunade spoke to them (finally) "You both can seal chakra points with your 64 par, right?" They both nodded in reply. She continued " I need you to seal Naruto's chakra points." They both looked a little

shocked. Hinata especially since she would never do anything to hurt Naruto. Neji asked "Why must we do that? He's no threat, and he's part of the village!" Tsunade nodded "Yes, I know all of that...hmmm...Neji. I heard that you fought Naruto once before in the Chuunin exams 3 years ago. I heard about Naruto using some 'Red' chakra near the end of the match and that was how he scored a victory over you. Neji, that chakra is exclusive to Naruto for a reason and if it's released from him it will end our lives." He gathered courage enough to ask "Why ..." he hesitated a moment "...why is it exclusive to Naruto and

only him?" She turned her head part ways to face him and spoke very seriously "... that Neji, is an S-rank secret that I can't tell you or Hinata." Neji looked a little taken back at her expression 'It looked like whatever secret is being kept... is causing her to feel bad for Naruto. I wonder what it could be.'

Sasuke stood up when he saw 3 little figures quickly approaching in the horizon. "Tsunade! " He shouted with relief written all over his face. Naruto gasped in pain as he felt the pressure of the evil chakra welling up inside of him. He clutched his arms in attempt to ease the pain even if just a little. Tsunade jumped off the last roof and landed infront of Naruto. She quickly nelt beside him and charged her medical chakra in her right hand and then touched Naruto's back in certain areas. She pulled back

suddenly and turned quickly to Neji and Hinata who had just landed right behind her "Quick! We only have 3 minutes until the chakra comes thru my needles! Hinata, stand infront of him and Neji go behind him and use your 64 par. We've got no time to lose!" Tsunade ran away from where they were as well as Sasuke to get out of range of their attack. Once she felt she was a safe distance away and saw that Sasuke was too, Tsunade fired one last order at the Hyuugas "DON'T go easy on him just

because he's a comrade! Give it everything you've got!!" They both chimed "Hai!" and stood in their traditional stance. Naruto knew he had to go thru this even if it did hurt very much (he knows from being hit by Neji with the 64 par before) so he could protect the village. He bravely stood up without holding any defense up. As the ground below them glowed with the circle in which to begin the jutsu, Hinata and Neji backed up to the edge of the circle and got ready. They activated their Byakuugan.

Naruto closed his eyes and bit his lip - this would end eventually. "HAAAAAHHH!!" Neji called out as he blindingly dashed to Naruto. Hinata came a second afterwards. They both began striking with twice the power as usual at all of his chakra points. Tsunade looked on with a little worry 'If they make a single mistake and miss even one chakra point in his body -!' Sasuke looked on without a single hint of emotion on his face. Was he even feeling for Naruto at this time? No one knows. Not even I - the writer knows.

Sakura, Lee, Shino, Kiba&Akamaru(of coarse), Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji all neared the area which Tsunade 'Specifically' told them not to come. They jumped from roof to roof until they stopped on a roof where below them were Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Neji, and Tsunade. Lee happily said "Come on! Let's go down to them!" He was about to jump but then Sakura grabbed him by his arm."What Sakura? Why-" he stopped when he saw that she and all of the others were looking down

upon the scene. 'What are they doing down there?' Sakura wondered with worry. Lee looked as well, just as Neji and Hinata activated their 64 par circle - with Naruto in the middle! "What are they doing?! Using that move on Naruto?!" Sakura looked on - knowing what they were doing 'They're temporarily sealing Naruto's chakra points. And from what I'm feeling in the air, it must be the Kyuubi's chakra they're trying to stop.' She glanced at the others 'They don't know about what's in Naruto yet... it IS of coarse an 'S' Ranked secret after all...' Shino spoke up (which is SO rare!) "Let's stay here and watch. Can't you sense

it? That evil pressure that's building in the air?" Sakura gulped - she knew what it was.'Please hurry Neji, Hinata...'

'Only 10 par to go...' Neji thought as he continued to strike 'Hinata's keeping up very well... she has improved. But she did something just now that- no, it's probably nothing. ' They both striked Naruto a few more times and then ceased their strikes. They held their hands down and the large, glowing circle vanished beneath them. Naruto shook violently from the pain of the

blows he took. He coughed up some blood and then started to fall. Neji dashed over and barely caught him in time. Neji gently set Naruto down. He turned to Tsunade who came over after the jutsu was complete."Tsunade. I'm going to use Byakuugan to see if all of the chakra points were hit. Just for precaustions." She nodded in appoval. Neji held up the hand sign of the ram(sheep)."Byakuugan!" He looked thru all of Naruto's chakra points - each one was properly sealed. Neji saw

that all of the red chakra were swirling about in him, looking for a way out. Sasuke walked over towards them "So?" Neji nodded "It appears we've been sucessfull..." Tsunade sighed in relief "That's good. The needles wear off in one minute. Now the red chakra will not be able to escape and it will disapear soon." Neji looked around thru Naruto until something the chakra was doing caught his eye ' Wait! Something's wrong here! The chakra - is starting to flow into one direction... towards the small point up at the head!' He glared angrily at Hinata 'I knew there was something going on with the way she was hitting!

She hesitated at her final strike which caused her to miss that point!' Neji desparatly began to charge his two front fingers. Tsunade counted " 5... 4... " Neji completed his charge and held his hand back to strengthen his blow. Naruto began to feel strange 'Oh no! I think the chakra's leaking thru! But why - uugh can't I move? I can't see anymore... can't hear...my body feels so heavy...'

"3... 2..." Tsunade continued. Sakura and the others looked on with some worry and alot of anticipation of what was going to happen. They all sensed the growing evil and unimaginably powerful presence and they all thought it strange that it was coming... from Naruto?... everyone except Sakura. She knew what was coming - and it wasn't good. Neji's hand came down to strike in the final chakra point. Hinata looked on with worry and Sasuke got in a stance, ready to fight knowing what was coming. "...1..." Tsunade finished counting. The rain stopped right as she spoke that small number.

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Time seemed to have stood still after "one" was spoken. Everyone was afraid to move because of this uneasiness they felt around them. Sakura whispered to the others "We'd better help Tsunade and Sasuke." She then jumped off of the roof and landed by Tsunade's side. Everyone else followed obediently without a word. Neji's hand stopped exactly one inch from Naruto's forehead. Why? At the last moment, Naruto at the Kyuubi's will grabbed Neji's wrist and held it in place. Neji couldn't

move a muscle. Naruto then pulled up his feet and kicked Neji hard in his stomach and the force knocked him away. "Guuuuuhhhh!" Neji went hurdling thru the air. Lee took quick note of this, dashed over to him, and barely caught him just before he slammed against a building. Everyone's eyes were on Naruto, who slowely stood up but hunched ever so slightly so his face wasn't seen. Suddenly the surroundings were colored in red as blood red charka spiraled at an incredible speed

around Naruto. It was truly a terrible sight. The charka stopped spinning after a while and dove down towards Naruto. The charka poured onto him and molded into the Kyuubi's form, though he only had 2 tails. Horror was on everyone's face. Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes 'Not again….' Lee slowly approached Sakura without taking his eyes off of Naruto. He asked her "Sakura…. You knew about this already didn't you?" Sakura only nodded, tears rolling down her soft cheeks. She quietly

whispered, not knowing everyone else was listening "He…. has a monster within him. It's the ….kyuubi…" Neji listened in on this 'So that's why… he has red chakra.' Everyone grew even more fearful. Tsunade, who didn't hear what Sakura had just said, shouted to them all "Listen! I know Naruto is your friend no doubt, but he's….. " she stopped because she didn't know

what to say. Tsunade didn't want to tell them about the Kyuubi but she almost had no choice. They all witnessed the transformation. 'I wish they would've just stayed at the towers like I told them to. Then we wouldn't be in this mess….' Sakura walked over to Tsunade having wiped her tears away and whispered in Tsunade's ear. She listened to Sakura intently. After

Sakura had finished, Tsunade told everyone "The Kyuubi is within Naruto, as Sakura had mentioned. Before I order you anything else, you are not to speak about this matter at all. This just so happens to be an S ranked secret and you will be severely punished if you speak of this to anyone." Everyone, a little nervous, nodded. Tsunade then went on "Right now Naruto is being controlled by it and is very dangerous. He won't hesitate to hurt or even ... you. It would be best if you didn't

fight him." Hinata spoke up timidly "W-what will you do then miss Tsunade?" She grinned a little "I'll beat him wih my fist until he snaps out of it. He really only needs to be distracted until Kabuto's seal technique wears off." Lee spoke out " We should do it though! He is our friend! Besides, shouldn't you find our sensei's so they can help?" Tsunade sighed heavily "Right before Kabuto's army struck us, I sent them all out on missions. They should be back soon so I guess I'll stand guard at the

gate until we do. I especially need Yamato since he can control the red chakra and make it recede." She turned around and jumped across the roofs. She called back "Don't do anything reckless!" They acknowledged that much. Suddenly a red claw stretched out and tried to grab Sakura or anyone who was standing near her. She quickly jumped away right before it grabbed her. Neji held a stance "Don't take your eyes off of him! One glance away could mean your life!" He then dashed towards Naruto and used his Byakuugan. He curved his palm and fingers in preparation for his 64 par. Naruto lunged at Neji

with his claws out ready to slice him. Neji spun around Naruto at a quickening speed and made his move. His first strike though was his only one. The chakra around Naruto burned Neji like nothing before. 'I can't use my 64 par!' Neji thought. Naruto spun around and grabbed him by the arm. They're eyes met – and Neji was instantly terrified. It was a sensation he had never felt before. The evilness and bloodlust in his eyes and his teeth that had grown fangs were terrifying. He also saw something else about Naruto's face – it seemed that tears were coming from his eyes but he didn't have time to look long

enough to be sure. Naruto tore into Neji's side with his claw. Neji couldn't take the hit and fainted. Naruto then flung him away, and a third tail grew from the chakra. Sakura ran over to Neji's side while Shino stepped forward. "If his chakra can't be touched, long ranged attacks are key." Shino said as he held up his arms to release his bugs. They swarmed around Shino's hands and arms. They then flew at Naruto. Shino was assured that this would take all of the red chakra out of Naruto and make him normal. He was wrong. The bugs completely covered Naruto and continued to feed on the chakra. After a bit, the

bugs wearily flew off of Naruto – who looked as if he hadn't changed a bit. The chakra covering him was stronger than ever. Shino grew fearful of this. He had one of the bugs land on his fingertip and listened to a report. He looked shocked – something you don't see Shino do everyday. Kiba looked at him with some worry 'How can this be? Shino's actually SHOCKED!!' "What's the matter Shino?" He looked at Kiba and said "The bugs couldn't handle the chakra. The charka is limitless – infinite!" The small group of Chuunins looked pitiful. How were they going to beat this nearly invincible force?

Shikamaru said "We need a plan. I'll hold him off with my Shadow Possession jutsu until you guys can think of one." Sakura nodded. Shikamaru calmly walked over to Naruto. 'This feeling – it's so evil just from being in close range! I can't go easy on him at all - !' "Hey Naruto. This whole ordeal is so troublesome, you know that?" He then held up the hand sign of the

ram(sheep) and released his shadow. It grabbed Naruto's shadow and kept hold of it. Naruto then started going berserk. "GWaaaaaaaaaaaaAH!!" he screamed. Shikimaru struggled to keep him in place 'Hurry you guys….' Sakura huddled the group and said "I think I may have a solution to this whole thing. Look at this – " She held up a piece of paper with "Seal" written on

it "Kakashi-sensei gave a bunch of these to me just in case Naruto would go crazy and Yamato wasn't around. We should each take one, surround Naruto, and then close in on him all at once. Even if one of these were to touch him, the chakra would disappear for about 5 minutes, but Naruto would still be in the Kyuubi's control. In that time I need Hinata to seal his

chakra. Neji can't do it since he was injured badly." They all nodded. Hinata spoke up "U-ummm…. Sakura?" "Yes Hinata?" Sakura replied. "W-what is happening to N-naruto-kun?" Sakura looked at Naruto. Shikamaru was barely holding him in place. Naruto was struggling like crazy, his red chakra spouting flames as if in anger. Sakura's eyes widened when she looked at Naruto more closely – the fourth tail appeared!!

The miniture demon fox began charging chakra for an attack. Sakura'a eyes widened "Everyone GET DOWN!!" Too late. A atomic wave of red, powerful chakra. The chakra impacted them all... and Sakura received the worst of the blow - she was thrown thru one building after another until finally a brick wall stopped her. She fell to the ground out cold."SAKURA!!" Lee shouted, witnessing her brutal beating. He quickly lept up, but was brought to a knee. 'My old injury in my left leg! It's starting... guh to throb... it hasn't healed even after three years?' He winced a little and wobbled back up. Lee turned to his friends "I need to help Sakura! Can someone heal her?" Eno stood up to catch her breath "I-I can!" They both hurried as fast as they could over to treat Sakura.

Shikamaru stood up. He brushed off some loose soil on his new pants 'How troublesome...' "Okay listen up! Distract Naruto a bit! I need to still think of something!" They all nodded. Neji and Ten-ten dashed in a circle around Naruto. He menacingly glared at them, though it didn't faze them at all. They circled faster and faster until many after images of them were created. 'This is great! By now he shouldn't know who to hit. This is our chance...' Ten-ten thought. She then shouted to the group of ready ninja "Now! Kiba! Chouji!" Chouji bounced into the air "Giant Meatball jutsu! Rarararararararararar!!" He puffed up into a giant blimp-like human balloon and headed at break-neck speed towards the half-demon. At the same time, both Akamaru and Kiba bounded towards him with their all-fours jutsu.

"Ready Akamaru?" "Arrf!" The 4-tailed fox's response - deadly force. Swwwwwwooooffffff! He lept up high above them in the air effortlessly avoiding Chouiji's seemingly harmless attack.'Darn it... I missed.' Choujij gritted his teeth. The possesive fox turned 360 fully and got ready to attack "GWWWWRRROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!" Chakra spears and pure, demonic bloodlust rained down on them all. "Gaaaahhhh!" Neji cried as he fell to his knees, clutching his pierced arm. "NEEEJJIII!! NO!" Ten-ten cried and went to go help - but shared the same fate as him and collapsed. They all were scratched, pierced, and

completely pulverized by this devistating attack. Shikamaru sighed with concern 'This is a drag. I wish we could do something inside of the problem... Wait! That's it!' He quickly got up "Guys, hold on a bit longer. I have a plan..." he was cut off when he saw that Naruto was aiming an even larger spear right at him. 'Shoot, this isn't good. I can't dodge it in time...'

Shikamaru winced 'This is it!' He threw the large chakra spear right at him, and it hit... but not the original target! A giant paper bird absorbed the attack and sent it right back at Naruto, who of coarse dodged it. A tall, slinder, pale, VERY familiar figure stood atop the bird's head. "Sai!"

**To Be Continued...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"Sai!" Shikamaru shouted with suprise "What're you doing here?" Sai looked at him with a forced smile "I just returned from a mission. Miss Tsunade ordered me to come and help you. I can see Naruto's at it again..." He leaped off of the paper bird as it began it's assault. Sai landed next to Shikamaru "I overheard what you were saying about a plan. You go ahead and carry it out while I distract him. Go." He then turned away to face his opponent. Shikamaru dashed over towards where Lee and Eno were along with Sakura.

Eno continued to use her healing chakra on Sakura's wounds. She looked more worried since Sakura kept looking worse and worse. Lee watched over the two girls, making sure no harm came their way. Then after a while the light green chakra stopped emitting from Eno's hands. She sighed heavily and looked very worried.

Lee asked with concern on his face "How is Sakura-san?" Eno looked at him with tears glazing her eyes "I managed to heal her wounds and cracked bones but..." she stopped to wipe her eyes "That chakra is still in her body. It's like poisen to her! It's already getting close to her heart. She's going t-to... sniff d-die...and it's all my fault!" Eno cried with all of her might. Her tears trickled down her face and onto Sakura's soft cheeks. Even steadfast Lee shedded a tear or two. At this point,

Shikamaru finally was apon them. He noticed their crying "What's the matter?" Eno looked at him with swelled, red eyes "U-ummm... sniff Sakura's really hurt... that's all." Shikamaru pushed aside his concern and said "Eno. I have a plan to try and stop Naruto and I need you. Lee can watch over Sakura while you come and help." Eno swallowed her tears and sorrow and

stood up firmly "Okay. What's the plan?" Shikamaru took a deep breath and sighed "I need you to use your mind transfer jutsu on Naruto. Maybe you could somehow stop him from inside of him. Think you could do this?" Eno glanced behind her and looked at Sakura. She turned back to Shikamaru with determination in her eyes "I'll do it." 'For Sakura...'

Eno and Shikamaru arrived at the battle scene with Sai holding Naruto off. The miniture fox was starting to become inraged with its attacks failing. Shikamaru spotted something and his eyes widened "Eno! Hurry and use your jutsu - the 5th tail is coming!"

'This is for Sakura!' "Mind Trasfer Jutsu!!" Eno held her hands up infront of her forehead and activated her jutsu. Her soul whisked away from her body and disapeared inside of Naruto's fox formed body. Shikamaru quickly stooped over to catch the girl's empty shell 'I hope Eno can pull this off...'

"Whoa, what is this place? It looks like a large sewer system. Is this really Naruto's soul?" She looked around at the four way path. 'Which way do I go to find Naruto?' just then as if calling her, Eno's ears picked up a faint growl coming from the path behind her. 'Might as well go that way.

I don't have any other leads...' She cautiously tip-toed down the dank corroder. She turned a corner to find a giant room - with a large gate in the back! "W-what is this?!" she said a little startled. The darkness behind the cage was suddenly illuminated with red chakra flaring like fire. A giant fox stood amongst the flames, with a limped, helpless boy grasped in it's claw. Eno gasped when she saw who it was "Naruto!" The fox heard her scream and took notice of her "Hmmm hm hm. What are you doing here? I'm just about to have fun - don't bother me!" Eno quaked in fear 'My mind tells me to run... but my feet

aren't moving!' she looked once more at Naruto 'I have to wake up Naruto!' "Naruto! Wake up! Please!!" She continued to cry this plea until finally she got the answer she hoped to hear. "H-huh?..." Naruto began to stir. He snapped awake when he saw the giant fox with a tight hold on his waist. He looked over on the other side of the gate to see who had called him.

"E-Eno?! How did you-" He shook his question away "Eno! You have to get out of here! Now!" She answered defyingly "NO! You have to stop the Kyuubi now! Your distroying us,yourself - and the village!" Naruto's face was smacked with grief and shock "Y-you... how do you know-" "I just know! Now stop!" Naruto closed his eyes "I-I can't." Eno shouted "You have to try!

You owe it to Sakura! Do you know that now she's dieing because of you?!" Naruto looked at her in disbelief. "It's too late now girl." The evil fox stated with a smirk "I've finally done it." It's other claw clasped Naruto and a bright red orb of chakra spiralled around him.(if you want to imagine this, it's like a Red Rasegan with Naruto trapped in the center of it.) The fox chuckled "What should I destroy first when I go out amist the world once more?" Naruto felt his vision getting blury. He spoke weakly to Eno "You'd better not let Sakura do anything crazy..." Eno was then caught up in a bright light that blinded her vision. 'No, I can't leave now!'

Shikamaru looked at Naruto with question 'What on earth is going on? He seems to be - hesitating or something...' He jumped a little when he felt movement in his arms. Eno began to stir "mmmm... Wha-?!" She looked around. Shikamaru smiled "Welcome back. Did the plan work?" Eno shook her head. Shikamaru sighed 'What are we going to do now?' The 5th tail fully appeared now on Naruto. The earth trembled and the skys turned blood red. "Hmmm hm hm..." a ominous voice came from Naruto. He then knocked the airborn Sai far away across the village with it's tails. Lee came over to the small group while

carrying Sakura on his back "Was that Naruto?" Naruto - or not really Naruto but the ninetails spoke "I'm finally out! I can now destroy this pathetic village!" He yelled victoriously. Not much changed with features on the fox besides having 5 tails. The Kyuubi dashed towards the shuddering group of shinobi, eyes blazing with bloodlust. "Get out of the way!" Shikamaru shouted as he lept away with Eno in his arms. The leaf ninjas barely dodged the deadly tackle. "I don't think we can survive much longer like this..." Eno said with her lips trembling. They watched helplessly as the demon tore up the village. It

suddenly took a turn like a powerful tornado and blasted straight towards them. 'Can't make it ...' Someone suddenly jumped infront of them and put their hand out to stop the fox. The impact created a tremendous explosion which nearly blew them all away. "What on earth was that?" Lee asked in wonder. The smoke cleared and answered his question. The fox was just inches away from them, claws out and ready to tear into their flesh. A pretty, manicured finger pressed against it's forehead.

"I thinks it's time you disapeared Kyuubi." a confident, woman voice demanded. "Tsu-Tsunade!!" Shikamaru gasped in suprise - and relief. "Looks like we made it just in time." Tsunade stated "Good job Shikamaru. We'll handle the rest." All of the Jonins appeared in a flash surrounding Naruto. Jiraiya followed closely behind them. "Let's go!" Tsunade ordered "Supress him!"

**To Be Continued...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Kurenai held her hands together and activated her genjutsu. "Ha! Think your petty genjutsu can effect me?!" the demon shouted. He shot out his his extendable chakra arm in effort to slice her. "Haaaaaaaa! Dynamic Entry!" Gai jumped infront of her and kicked away the sharp claw sucessfully, but with a price. "Guhhh..." He landed ackwardly on his feet and collapsed to

the ground."Heh... That chakra really hurts. 'I could try that seal Jiraiya gave me.' Kakashi's Chidori churped and flashed as he dove towards the fox. The fox chuckled "Ahhhh Chidori. I haven't seen that move since I laid waist to Konoha 15 years ago." He reached out and grabbed Kakashi's arm with the chakra blade. The Chidori gradually faded away and the fox smirked "But that pitiful attack won't affect me." Kakashi grabbed the sealing paper he received from Jiraiya in his back pouch with his right

hand 'Now's my chance!' He flung the paper towards the demon. "What are you trying to do with that?" the fox said mockingly. It snatched the paper and used it's chakra to burn it away. "That little triffle won't work on me now." The Kyuubi released it's grip on Kakashi's arm "Here, I'll show you just how strong I am!" The fox held it's right hand out and charged a Rasengan in it's claw. 'That move's Naruto's! Except it's dyed red with chakra and a lot bigger!' Kakashi analized. The Kyuubi

threw it's Rasengan at him. The Rasengan went too fast for Kakashi to dodge unfortunately and it hit him at an incredible speed. This incredible force flung Kakashi away with a terrible quake. "Sai! Now!" Tsunade ordered. Sai drew out a bird from his scetch pad and sent it out to catch Kakashi. Tsunade sighed with relief once the great bird barely caught Kakashi in it's talons. "Yamato! This has gone on far enough! We'll hold him off until you can complete your " "Yes!" He began to prepare his jutsu to drain the demon chakra away from Naruto. Tsunade turned to the remaining Jonin and Jiraiya "Let's go!"

'... Am I dead?' Sakura slowly blinked her eyes half way open. She saw Naruto fighting all of the Jonins 'No I'm not dead! If this goes on Naruto's lifespan will be cut down! And - ' She saw the 5 tails on Naruto's form 'This is reallly bad!' she squirmed on the ground, struggling to get up. She collapsed down again, too weary to even sit up. She heard an evil voice say "You people are becoming pests! Time to finish you!" The fox then released yet another wave of chakra more powerful than the

one sent out in 4 tailed form. Everyone was thrown away to an uncomfortable landing on the hard stone buildings and houses. This blast knocked even Yamato away from his post and thus destroying all hopes of stopping the evil fox within Naruto. Sakura though avoided the blast because she had been lying on the ground just below the impact point. 'There still may be a chance!' Sakura thought to herself. She struggled to sit up but failed. 'NO! I have to try! For the village's...' She managed to sit up 'And for Naruto's sake!' Sakura gather strength in her legs to try and stand. Sakura managed to stand -

but very unbalanced. 'I just have to get over to him... come on, keep moving!' she pushed herself forward. The Kyuubi, facing the oppisite direction of Sakura, laughed mockingly at the ninjas trewned around him "You villagers are weaker than 15 years ago! Where's the 4th? Oh yeah! He's already dead! Heh heh heh!" The evil fox continued to laugh with an evil that sent chills down your spine. Sakura clutched her throbing arm. 'The pain... I can feel that chakra circulating closer to my vitals... I have to hurry...' She bravely walked on.

"I guess I should flatten this village which I should have done from the start!" The Kyuubi said to himself. Just before he dashed away, a gentle trembling hand clapsed around his claw. "huh?" "N-Naruto! I know you can hear me! Please!" The Kyuubi laughed "Ha ha ha! Naruto is nolonger here!" The chakra severly burned her skin but she continued to squeeze harder 'I can't let go!' "Please Naruto! This is your body! You have more power than the Kyuubi!! Come back!!"

'I hear a voice... it's not Kyuubi's?' "Come back Naruto! Kyuubi has no power over you! You can control supress it if you wish it!" Sakura's voice rang out deep into Naruto's soul. Far enough to even reach his own ears. Sakura finally lost her strength to stand and fell to the hard ground. She didn't get back up this time 'It's up to you now Naruto...'. "H-hey! I can't move!" The Kyuubi realized. _"You've been out long enough! This is my body and I'll do what I want with it! Get out!" _Naruto's voice boomed into the old fox's ears. "GaaaaahhhhhhhhhhHH!!" The Kyuubi screamed in rage as the tails began to disolve one by one. At last when the final tail disapeared from site, Naruto's human body was at last visable.

Sakura lifted her head up and looked worried "Naruto!" He fell to the ground, clutching his sides. The chakra had severly scathed his body and his clothes were burned pretty badly too. 'I have to help Naruto! I have very little chakra left, but maybe it's just enough to heal his burns...' she crawled over to Naruto, struggling franticly to hurry. She reached out her hand over Naruto and rolled him to his back. She managed to sit up beside him. 'Just a little chakra...' she thought hopefully as she began her healing jutsu. Naruto's burns slowly but surely disapeared. Just as she finished healing the last burn on his hand,

her chakra ran out. 'Thank goodness... I think I've reached my limit now...' and she fell onto Naruto's chest. 'I can't move anymore... that red chakra tore up my muscles. I can feel it... nearing my vitals... I won't live much longer...' She gazed once more at Naruto's face. She smiled weakly, her lifeless eyes filled with tears "I'm sorry Naruto. I couldn't do much to help you... once again..." The red clouds that remained in the sky evaporated, leaving pure white clouds to blanket the blue sky as far as the eye could see. After a few moments the clouds spilled out a rain of tears... but this time, it was with peace and quiet.

There was silence set upon the shattered village. The rain was the only thing breaking this erie void.

Naruto lied motionless on the wet soil, almost as if he was lifeless. The rain trickled down his nose, which after a while finally made him move. "Aaaaaachoo!" Naruto sneezed and slowly blinked his eyes open. His vision still a little blury, he just stared straight up into the rain, gradually gaining his memories of what had happend moments ago. It finally all came back to him like a gush of wind. He sat up straight, only to see Sakura laying on his lap. "S-Sakura!" he studdered as a wave of guilt flooded

his emotions. "You stopped me with all you had didn't you?" Naruto said with a touch of sadness in his voice and tears streaming down his face. He reached out to touch her, but stopped short when he saw what covered his hand - blood. Naruto began to shake violently, scared to even think about what had happened. He clinched his fist 'Why?' Naruto looked around at the village in disbelief. It was completly distroyed, the only remains were strewned pieces of houses and unconcious ninja whom he had called allies. 'I don't even deserve to live after what I've done.' Naruto gently lifted Sakura in his arms, only to

realize in horror that she wasn't breathing.'No! She really is-' he froze in place with Sakura lieing in his arms. In the distance infront of him he could hear someone's footsteps. He looked up to see Sasuke's face. He slowly approached them and stopped right infront of Naruto "... Naruto. What happend to her?" Naruto grinded his teeth together and turned away, too hurt to even look at him. Sasuke nodded as if in understanding. He calmly took a step foward and took Sakura out of Naruto's hands. After that, Naruto turned and started to walk away.

"Stop Naruto." He froze in place, waiting to hear what Sasuke was going to say. "What now? What are you going to do after all of this?" There was a long pause. Naruto finished thinking and spoke "I can't face them now. I just can't. I've hurt them enough... I... I'm going to leave the village and be out of everyone's way for good. Bye Sasuke." He turned to leave but a hand grabbed his wrist. "No Naruto. Your just running away-" "Sasuke!!" Naruto interrupted "Please!" He turned to face him

"I've had enough! I killed Sakura! Isn't that enough?!" Sasuke fell silent at the expression. Naruto's eyes overflowed with sorrow, tears, and suffering built up from years of lonelyness. Sasuke asked "But what will you do? Once you leave you'll be considered a traitor to the village." Naruto hesitated "...tell Tsunade that I'm not turning back on the village, but I won't be coming back." Naruto reached up and took off his Konoha leaf head band. He then slipped it in his pocket. Naruto gripped his bleeding arm and slowly walked away. "You'd better come back Naruto!" Sasuke called out to him. Naruto kept on walking - it seemed that Sasuke's fading voice was not heard. He then looked down at Sakura's lifeless body 'I'm sorry I couldn't save you Sakura. I bet Naruto feels the same way...'

**To Be Continued...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Akatsuki's Base

The 6 remaining members of the Akatsuki stood in darkness to discuss some important matters. A pair of Sharigan eyes opened their eyelids. Itachi said "I have recovered enough to use my Sharigan." The mysterious leader smiled "Excellent. We can now proceed with the capture of the final Jinchuuriki." Deidera spoke up "Too bad Kisame croaked. Itachi's kid brother isn't the kind of shinobi to mess with, yeah." Itachi glared seethingly at him. His thoughts of that battle wavered even him.

"..."

"Are you planning to destroy me this time?"

"..."

"Hey hey! What's with the silent treatment? Itachi can I ... your brother? My blade is itching to shave something to piec-"

"Shut up." Sasuke finally spoke

Kisame's body suddenly collapsed to the ground and started bleeding heavily. Sasuke materialized behind Itachi with a bloody kunai in his clutches

"Today will be your last Uchiha Itachi."

"Hmmmm..." 'There is something different about Sasuke. He instantly slaughtered Kisame without a moment's hesitation. This may be a little too much for me this time - I should retreat...'

"..."

Chidori flashed all around Sasuke

'No! I can't make a block-'

Sasuke stabbed Itachi just a bit off from his heart.

"Hmmm. Your lucky. I missed your heart by 5 inches. But I won't make that mistake again!"

Naruto stumbled through the forest of seemingly endless trees.The rain and black clouds made the green labyrinth even darker than before,making Naruto even more confused about which way he was going.He tripped on an oak root hidden in the ground,his deeply gashed arm breaking his fall.He gripped his arm in vain hope of relieving the pain a little.With his free

hand,he gripped his chest trying to ease the pain of his broken heart.All hope drained from his eyes and he suddenly felt the pain of all that had just happend.His blank expression held tears in his eyes,dripping down his cold cheek."I'm...alone again."was all he could think about.As he did once years ago,he fell into the eternal darkness again...but this time even deeper than ever before;with little hope of escape.

--

"Quick! We need more nurses!" "Tsunade's making the medicine just please hold on."

"Hold him down while I give him a dose-"

"Get the medicine from cabinet A aisle 3!"

"Help carry in these others we found!"

The voices of paniced nurses filled the halls of the Konoha hospital. Most of the ninjas, mainly the Jonins, sustained heavy damage and was in critical conditions.

Though chaos echoes throughout the hospital, it was quiet in the room where Kakashi lied. Jiraiya sat unmoved in a chair in the far corner, deep in thought 'The village is in worse shape now than it was 3 years ago when Orochimaru attacked... and to make matters worse Naruto took off somewhere.' He clinched his teeth into a goofy frown 'and that Uchiha kid said he knows what Naruto's doing but has the nerve to tell ME "It's none of your business" sheesh... he should have more respect for me, the invincible toad sage! He should be honored that I even spoke to him!' He snapped out of his silly rage when he

heard Kakashi stirring. He noticed Jiraiya sitting in the corner "Jiraiya! Where's Naruto?" Jiraiya shook his head "I don't know, but Sasuke seems to." Kakashi's eye widened with shock and question 'How did Sasuke...' "And what is the condition-" He stopped short when the sliding door flew open. Tsunade stomped in, apparently having no regard of Kakashi's health condition. She glared at them both and spoke in a low, deathly tone "Where's Naruto?" ..._DeadSilence..._"Where's Naruto?!" She demanded an answer. Jiraiya sighed heavily 'Gentle as ever...' "We don't know. If you want answers, interrigate that

Sasuke kid not us." Tsunade's expression softened a bit and quietly asked no one in particular "What was Naruto thinking?" She then rushed out the door, her walking pace quickening every second. Jiraiya stood up and slid the door shut "I came here to ask you of something Kakashi." His visible eye squinted as if in sarcasim "Hmm. You wouldn't be here otherwise. What's on your mind?"

**To Be Continued...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

Tsunade quickly dashed down the hallway and stopped infront of a small waiting room. She slid the door open and saw Sasuke quietly planted in a chair. She tramped in and asked in a huff "What the heck is with your attitude Uchiha?! Tell me where Naruto-" she was interrupted by a hand shoved in her face. Sasuke calmly stood up and stated "Naruto requested that I tell only you what's become of him. He also had a request of you..." Tsunade hid her suprise, but could not hide her questioning look "...What kind of request?" "...Naruto wishes that you would not think of him as a betrayer or a missing ninja. He said he'll be back in a few years or less." Tsunade's lips curved into a small grin "What a knuckle head..." She turned to

leave. She stopped at the door and said to Sasuke "What's going to happen to Naruto now? Jiraiya tells me that the Akatsuki are getting restless. They'll do anything to get their hands on the Kyuubi now. I wonder if he'll survive..." There was a pause. Sasuke closed his eyes and his words flowed naturally thru Tsunade's ears "Naruto is stronger than you know. We both recently started training together." Tsunade turned and peered at Sasuke with her head slightly slanted. He continued on

"We both sparred against each other about 50 times a day and practice our jutsus. And..." He opened his eyes and looked straight on to Tsunade with seriousness like never before "...I never beat him in a taijutsu match once... and he's developed over 20 new jutsus of his own." Her eyes widened greatly as if she just laid eyes on a ghost. She turned back to face the doorway and stiffly walked out. A smile quickly spread on her face. 'I'm sure Naruto will be okay.' She thought with relief.

Sasuke turned quickly to the emergincy door room when the light above clicked off. He stood with anticipation. Shizune stepped thru the doors with a deep, relieved sigh. "Well?" Sasuke asked impatiently. She looked at him with a big smile "The treatment was a sucess! Why don't you come and visit?" He smirked in a nice way and slowely came thru the doors with Shizune at his side. In the room, there was a small bed in the back. Under the blankets layed a person - but who? Sasuke lifted the blankets off of the person's face. This action stirred her and slowly she opened her eyes "S-Sasuke-kun?" He smiled "Hey. Finally awake Sakura?"  
**--**

Naruto trudged aimlessly through the barren forest, his mind blank of thoughts. His eyes looked far off into the distance at nothing paticular. His wounds, although slowly healing from the Kyuubi's chakra, pained him like never before. He grew into a pitiful state, neither right in the mind nor physically. The dark skies above and the rain just made the situation worse. Finally after the highest level of torture one could endure, he collapsed to the ground, his mind so tired it shut down.

"..." "..." "..." 'huh? I hear voices...' "...muffle..." "..." "..." 'Whose are they?' Naruto thought half concious. He half opened his eyes, but - something was covering them. The voices gradually became clearer to him.'They sound like girls...' "I bet he came from that-" the voice stopped speaking. They seemed to be in deep thought. Naruto slowly started moving, which quickly caught the attention of the two women. He reached out and took away the soaked, cool cloth over his eyes and gazed into the eyes of two women. "Huh?"

**To Be Continued...**


	16. Chapter 16

**EDIT: Have you guys noticed that I combined a lot of the little chapters I used to have? I did this because a kind critic told me to make the chapters longer. This chapter however, I rewrote some of the parts in it. Maybe I improved it, I really don't know. Just read and review okay? **

**Chapter 16:**

Naruto stared up at the two women. 'Who the heck are they?' Yeah... who are they? "Ummm" the older looking one hesitated "H-hi. I'm Choco. This is my daughter Kanatsu." Naruto didn't know what to think "I'm Naruto..." The young girl named Kanatsu looked to be no more than Naruto's age. She had wavy dark red hair that reached down to her elbows, and her eyes were purple. Her skin was as pale as the moon, but very beautiful. Choco looked to be in her late 20s, her brunet hair going down to her neck and her eyes the same color as her hair. She had a medium tan, revealing the long hours she's spent working outside. Both of them were quite beautiful. Kana suddenly bursted out with a deeply angery expression "How dare you shinobi come here! Just leave!" She then stomped out the cottage's door.

Naruto flinched at the slam of the door. "Geez, what's her problem with shinobi?" he asked. Choco sighed. Her eyes filled to the brim in sadness "Kanatsu ….. 3 years ago she was attacked by these strange shinobi." Naruto looked intrigued "Strange?" Choco nodded "There were about 8 of them. You could see from their head protectors that they each came from a different hidden village. They all wore the same coats – black with red clouds." Naruto gritted his teeth '_The Akatski!'_ "These men completely destroyed her small non-shinobi village and killed her parents. She was luckly outside the village at the time. Kanatsu became the only survivor of that brutal assault. I later found her and took her in as my own understanding the circumstances at hand." Choco smiled warmly "Kanatsu is like the daughter I never had. But please understand that she doesn't hate you personally." Naruto nodded. Choco got up and said "Well I'd better get to my work. Think you could talk to Kanatsu?" Naruto smiled "Sure!" He then gulped "…If she doesn't kill me first….." Choco laughed "Hahahaaaa!! N-no hehe she won't do that. Kanatsu's a really sweet girl." _"Sure hope so…" _A chill went up his spine as he looked out the window just in time to see Kanatsu send a giant tree toppling over to the ground with one kick.

Naruto nervously stepped outside. He looked around at his surroundings – a very small village sleeping quietly in a small valley. "Wow…." He said in awe. It's rare to find such a peaceful place. Naruto glanced around in search of Kanatsu. "what do you want?" a creepy, angry voice asked from behind him. Naruto stiffly turned his head to face the angry eyes of Kanatsu. "H-hi….." he sputtered. She sighed and walked infront of him "Well? What do you want?" Naruto grew more and more nervous by the second _'I'd better be careful! If I say one wrong thing she could kill me!! shiver'_ "Uh…. I just wanted to ask you about the Akatski-" He was cut short by a punch in his gut. "Gaack-!" Naruto went flying away and roughly landed on the ground. "What do you know about the Akastki?!" she demanded coldly. Apparently Naruto really struck a nerve with her(which was the last thing he wanted!!). "cough I just wanted to ask you since that lady Choco said your old village was destroyed because of them." Kanatsu's face grew painfully solem. "So… Choco told you?" She offered her hand to Naruto and helped him up. "Yes, those Akatski turned my home into ruins. But I never told Choco why..."

"Okay! I'll be back in a few!" A 12 year old Kanatsu shouted behind her. Her parents both stood at the door "Come back soon!" they shouted. Kanatsu ran with excitement through the small but beautiful town called Traquila. "I'll train a little before I go back." She said to herself. _'I don't care what mom says about shinobis! People with strength like that could never be bad! I'll become one and be able to protect everyone in this village.'_

As the yellow sun splattered against the volcano red sky, Kanatsu ran with her spirits high through a beautiful, lush grassy field. "Yes! Traquila's in sight!" she said with happiness. As she approached, all of her joy flew from her like a gush of wind. A heavy fog of smoke could be seen rising from the small village. "Oh no!" she thought of the worst that could happen, but not worse enough for what was to come. She came upon the village gate – it was torn to pieces! "Who – what could have done this?!" She ran in thru the broken gate – it was like nothing she had ever seen! People were running around in a panic, screaming unearthly screams. One women she saw was crying while leaning over a corpse of a loved one. Then a thought jumped into her mind _'Mom! Dad!!'_ She ran as fast as she could towards her house, leaping over the dead and dodging toppling buildings.

She finally reached her house and kicked down the door "MOM! DAD! Where-"

Kanatsu's lips and heart froze. Infront of her was 9 strange men with jet black robs and intensely evil, emotionless eyes. One with Sharingan walked slowly up in front of her. His cold words sent chills down her spine "So we've finally found the last of the children. I wonder which is the Jinchuuriki?" Kanatsu gasped _'They know about that?!'_ She glared in anger and fear _'They're shinobis!' _A blue man with a huge blood stained sword in his clutches laughed "Ha. You know Itachi – she seemed to have reacted to what you just said. Could she – know something about what we're looking for?" Kanatsu took a step back "N-no…." suddenly a few men from Traquila ran up in front of her with farming tools in hand. "How dare you come here and treat innocent kids this way!!" They shouted. Kanatsu took the opportunity and ran out of the house without the notice of the evil men. She hid nearby – close enough to listen to the agony screams of the slaughtered villagers who had just saved her life. Kanatsu – being the only one who's trained for many years to become a shinobi, could sense the power and chakra of the men. They completely surpass any measly training she's ever done! She held back her sobering and listened.

"So Itachi…. Which one is it?" a snake like voice asked. "Patience, Orochimaru." Itachi stated. His hands performed the hand seal of the ram, ox, and tiger. After a moment or so, Itachi said "None of them are the Jinchuuriki. Do with them as you want Kisame." The apparent Kisame drew his sword with a smirk "With pleasure." The group of people huddled together in fear of this death giving blade. He raised his sword, and Kanatsu flinched in preparation for the tone of death. From the panicked crowd, Kanatsu could hear familiar voices calling out "Kanatsu! Where are you? KANATSU!" She curled up with tears streaming down her face. "Mom…. Dad…." She tried to move in to help them, but her feet refused to move. "I'm sorry…. I'm …." Kisame's blade swiftly came down towards the small group of people. "I'm…." she shut her eyes "I'm not strong enough!" She could hear the tearing of flesh and the screaming ceased. She felt as if her heart was going to be torn in two. The only voices that were heard was that of the evil, heartless men. "The Jinchuuriki must have escaped." Itachi spoke. Then a dark voice was heard

"It does not matter. Soon we will track down all remaining Jinchuuriki. They cannot hide from the Akatski forever." _'Akatski?'_ Then nothing more was heard. The once flourishing town was now forever erased from the map with Kanatsu being the one and only fortunate survivor, no matter how much she wished it weren't so.

--

"……" not a word was spoken amongst the two fellow shinobi after she finished. Naruto's mind was overflowing. Kanatsu took a deep breath "And that's it. A few days later, Choco found me along the road at the brink of death and she saved me. Since then she's treated me like her own daughter she never had." Naruto gripped his stomach and spoke as if it was painful "….Who then …. Was the Jinchuuriki they were after?" Kanatsu looked away,"...it was...me..."

Kanatsu looked down at her feet, tears welling up in her eyes. Naruto looked at her sympathetically. It was so silent that

you could hear the ants beneath their feet moving about. "Kanatsu, I-" he started but nothing else would come out. What

could he say? Even when it comes to their similar situation, Kanatsu had it far worse off than Naruto. He didn't watch his

family and friends get torn to pieces... A small sad smile appeared on her face, "Heh, I truly am a monster... who,but a

monster, would have such incredible power, but was too cowardly and selfish to risk her own life to save her family?"She

began to tremble, trying to hold in her tears. "What good am I?" _'Kanatsu! Where are you?!' _"What good am I?!"

_'Kanatsu!'_"WHAT GOOD AM I TO ANYBODY?!" She could no longer hold in her tears. The tears of the stained soul tore down

her cheek.She reached back into her pouch and grabbed a badly beaten kunai. "See this Naruto?" She coughed out. He

nodded with confusion.She aimed it at her stomach, "After that incident, I've tried so many times to pierce and destroy the

monster that lyes in the darkest depths of my soul..." Naruto looked a little taken back, '_Suicide?!'_ She continued, "But... every

time I tried... I just couldn't! I'm too cowardly to take my own life to stop the Akatsuki's plans!" She threw it down hard upon

the ground. A chunk of the metal broke off of it. She muttered "That's what I did every time I failed - I would throw it on the

ground like a toddler with a tantrum. I've tried to kill this monster so many times, I've lost count. " Naruto couldn't believe

what this girl had gone through,

far worse than any situation he was in! _'Have... I been spoiled?' _He stared down hard at his own stomach, he grabbed and

clinched it, _'What if I ... should kill this "monster" to protect everyone?'_ He remembered the village he had left behind... and what he

had done to it because he succumbed to the Kyuubi's monstrous power. "Maybe I should..." he whispered to himself. But his

eyes widened and he jumped up, "What am I thinking?!" He shouted. Was he just going to be a coward and not face the

Kyuubi?! He was WAY stronger than that! Kanatsu looked at him with an annoyed expression. She instantly stopped crying and growled, "Are you making fun

of me Naruto?!" She had a look that could kill. He winced at her expression... but then got serious and sat down beside her.

He sighed and said to her, "Kanatsu, I know why you couldn't kill yourself." Her anger melted away and she listened with

interest, "Go on." He continued, a Naruto smile on his face, "You've new family and friends to take care of Kanatsu." She

looked a little surprised. He looked at her directly in the eye, "To kill yourself to destroy the 8-tailed... that's the coward's way.

You can't do that-" He smiled defiantly, "Because your not a cowardly shinobi!" Those words struck very strongly into

Kanatsu's heart. _'I'm... not a coward?'_ She searched her soul, and came to a shocking conclusion - "I-I'm not..." her tears

appeared again, "I'm not!" She began to both laugh and cry at once, her doubt of her capabilities draining away with every

chuckle. "Naruto thank you so much... your words have released me from the prison I was holding myself in." She smiled a

very sweet smile, which was a rare thing indeed for her. He smiled back and then turned away. She stopped smiling. _'His_

_ eyes... they weren't smiling...' _Then her face turned grim. "Naruto... I almost forgot to ask..." her voice trailed off, but she

quickly caught it back, "How did you know what to say? I mean..." She stopped for a moment when he turned his head back

towards hers. She hesitated, her confidence draining at the sight of his eyes, "H-how did you know what to say to me? No

one, not even Choco could tell me exactly what I needed to hear." She sighed and stared up at the stars, realizing they've

been out for quite a while, and hadn't noticed the darkness was coming in fast. She spoke up again "Your so lucky Naruto...

your a human like everyone else. When I was little, some of the village kids would tease me all the time about the monster.

And a lot of times... they were really scared of me. In fact, if I ever first told someone about the 8-tailed, they would be so

shocked, and they wouldn't talk to me for at least a week. But I guess I should be lucky... I heard about a 9 tailed fox that

was sealed in someone somewhere over in the Land of Fire, and is supposed to be the most powerful and evil demon out

there. I guess I should be glad I have the 8 tailed instead, ha ha ha." She turned to Naruto, "But you - you weren't even

really surprised. And you showed no fear at all. That really shocked me. Why is that?" Kanatsu stopped cold. He was looking

at her with such a blank stare, she could've sworn he was like a ghost. She saw something flicker in his eyes - was it...

sorrow? Wrath? It was a sensation she couldn't describe. Quickly Naruto stood up and said quietly,"I think we'd better head

back. It's getting late." Kanatsu got up and silently followed him back to the cottage.

--

Evening fell too quickly, for the brimming trees soon grew haunted with it's shadows darken the forest further. In this darkness dashed five individuals, who's hearts even blacker than that of the forest, at break-neck speed on their way to their destination. "How long 'til we reach it?" a figure asked. One with the sharingan answered his partner "3 days."

One with the mask whispered "Oi! Tobi will be a good boy until then!!"

--

(that last hint MUST have let you know who these guys are…. Or your a baka!)

Note: Baka means "idiot", for those who doesn't watch the Japanese Naruto episodes.

--

"Naruto, are you listening?" Choco asked. Naruto snapped from his thoughts "Uh…"

"He-he! I just asked where you were from." Naruto smiled "I'm from Konoha." But then he frowned "I can't go back though…." Kanatsu looked at him with sympathy "Why's that?" "I promised myself that …. I'd get stronger. For reasons I …. can't explain, I ...uh... got my best friend get killed because I wasn't strong enough. That's why I'm going to train non-stop so I can protect what's important to me!" Naruto said, his words growing in strength. Kanatsu's eyes sparkled in admiration. She

suddenly stood up and exclaimed "Okay Naruto!" "….huh?" "Idiot, I'll help train you!" Naruto shrugged sarcastically "I don't know…" "You should take her up on that offer Naruto." Choco suddenly spoke up. "She may not look it – but she's almost as strong as one of your hidden leaf Jonin." Naruto gazed at Kanatsu in wonder _'….Kanatsu? Strong as a jonin?!' You've gotta be kidding me…'_ Kanatsu put on her biggest smirk, "Oh, and earlier you mentioned you were ranked a "genin" back in your

village right? Wow you must be pitifully

weak." Naruto's ears were blasting steam and he yelled, "YEAH THAT MAY BE TRUE, BUT BUT BUT! I NEVER RE-TOOK THE CHUUNIN EXAM!! EVEN NOW I'M WAY STRONGER THAN A CHUUNIN!!" Kanatsu laughed menacingly, "Then prove it, little genin." He grinned "Yosh! Let's start now! I'll show you that I'm really strong!" "I like your spirit!" Kanatsu said with a big

smile. Then they both ran out the door. Choco watch them leave from her window. "Hey, where are we training Kanatsu?" BAM "Shut up!! It's a secret! …­­"Their voices faded from Choco's hearing. "Kanatsu…." She said with a heart warming smile "This is the first time I've ever seen you smile so warmly…"

**To Be Continued...**


	17. Chapter 17

Hello all. I'm sorry to say that I won't be continuing this story any longer. School has really taken a toll on my time, and lately

I've been working on my drawing technique (I aim to be a pro manga artist). I apologize to those who were looking forward to

this story's updates. In the future (maybe in the summer time) I may possibly publish some new stories if time allows,

but I won't be returning to this one. I hope you can understand.

Thank you.

* * *

If you're interested in continuing this story, message me. I'll gladly give this story over to someone who has the time to work on it ^_^

(I'll post an update if someone takes my offer)


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